Fidel ፊደል

Write Amharic with an
English keyboard.

Type how a word sounds — selam becomes ሰላም. Fidel is a phonetic keyboard for Amharic (ፊደል) in your browser and in VS Code.

Get Extension Try it here
example as you type
> You type: selam yihun
> Amharic: ሰላም ይሁን
selam yihun → ሰላም ይሁን in the page

Install Fidel

Pick your browser. On Chrome you must turn on Developer mode before you can load the extension.

Google Chrome Latest v0.4.2
Free & Open Source
1
Get Extension Clone the repository and run bun run build:browser to produce the dist/browser folder.
2
Turn on Developer mode In Chrome, open chrome://extensions. Turn on Developer mode in the top-right. You cannot load Fidel until this switch is on.
3
Load the folder Click Load unpacked and select the extension folder. Fidel is ready to use on web pages.
bun install && bun run build:browser
Build from Source on GitHub View Source on GitHub

Try it in the page

Type English letters on the left. Amharic shows up on the right as you type.

Try it Try: gEz → ግእዝ • t-e → ትእ • k'idus → ቅዱስ • qwanqwa → ቋንቋ
English letters
Amharic
ሰላም! እንኳን ወደ ፊደል በሰላም መጣሁ።
Letters: 0
Fidel letters: 0
Status: Ready

What You Can Do With Fidel

Practical tips, shortcuts, and settings to make Amharic typing effortless in your daily workflow.

Natural Typing with Instant Syllable Resolution

Type normally using English phonetics. Fidel intelligently resolves consonants into their 7 orders and handles ambiguous compound syllables automatically:

  • Consonants + Vowels: s → ስ, se → ሰ, su → ሱ, si → ሲ, sa → ሳ, see → ሴ, so → ሶ
  • 8th Order Labialized: qwa / qw → ቋ, kwa → ኳ, lwa → ሏ, mwa → ሟ
  • Capital Vowel Shortcut (Split): Type capital E to insert standalone 6th order እ (e.g. gEz → ግእዝ, tE → ትእ)
  • Boundary Character: Use hyphen - to force separate syllables (e.g. t-e → ትእ)
Live Disambiguation Demo
Type: te → ተ (Merged 1st Order)
Type: t-e → ትእ (Boundary Override)
Type: gEz → ግእዝ (Capital Vowel Split)
Type: qwanqwa → ቋንቋ (Labialized Diqala)

Traditional Ethiopic Numerals & Punctuations

Easily toggle automated conversions on or off in the Extension Settings to match your exact formatting preferences:

  • Ethiopic Numerals (፩ - ፼): Automatically converts numbers: 1 → ፩, 10 → ፲, 25 → ፳፭, 100 → ፻, 2026 → ፳፻፳፮.
  • Ethiopic Punctuation: Automatically transforms standard keyboard punctuation:
    :: → ። (Full stop / Arat Netib)
    , → ፣ (Comma / Netela Serz)
    ; → ፤ (Semicolon / Dirb Serz)
    ? → ፧ (Question mark / Hiyek)
Numeral & Punctuation Preview
Type: 2026 → ፳፻፳፮
Type: selam:: → ሰላም።
Type: 1, 2, 3; → ፩፣ ፪፣ ፫፤

Smart Website Exclusions (Mini Browser Preview)

When typing code or design shortcuts on websites like GitHub, Figma, or CodePen, you want to type raw Latin without turning off Amharic mode manually. The Website Bypass List does this automatically:

  • All Standard Websites (e.g. twitter.com, docs.google.com, gmail.com): Fidel transliterates to Amharic automatically.
  • Bypassed Websites (e.g. github.com, figma.com, codepen.io): Fidel automatically stays in standard English (Latin) mode.
  • Global Shortcut: Press Alt + A (or Alt + Shift + A) anytime to toggle Fidel on or off on any page.
twitter.com
Amharic Active
Typed Keystrokes:
selam yihun
Rendered on Page:
ሰላም ይሁን

Personal Dictionary & Custom Word Shortcuts

Have custom names, family spellings, or phrases you type frequently? Add them to your personal dictionary for immediate 1-to-1 transliteration:

  • Custom Name Overrides: myname → ይሁን, haile → ኃይለ
  • Quick JSON Export/Import: Backup your personalized vocabulary and sync it across all your computers in one click.
  • Highest Priority: Personal dictionary entries override standard phonetic rules for zero spelling friction.
Personal Dictionary Examples
Trigger: yihun → ይሁን
Trigger: haile → ኃይለ
Trigger: kifle → ክፍሌ

Where Fidel Works Natively & Platform Behaviors

Fidel operates directly in real-time across standard web elements, modern reactive frameworks, and major platforms:

  • AI Prompts & Chats: Real-time typing across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity.
  • Web & Search: Direct input on Google Search, YouTube, Twitter/X, Reddit, Wikipedia, and standard form inputs.
  • Work & Messaging: Native transliteration in Gmail, Notion, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp Web, and Discord.
  • Code Editors: Full native extension support inside VS Code & Cursor IDE.
Platform Notes
Web Standard (DOM Text Elements)

Fidel intercepts standard typing events with instant O(1) buffer resolution and automatic caret preservation.

Google Docs (Canvas Renderer)

Google Docs renders text as canvas pixels. For Google Docs, use Fidel's 1-click Quick Transliteration popup to copy formatted Amharic text instantly.

Ethiopic Syllabary Reference (33 Families & Compounds)

Search across all 33 Ethiopic consonant families and 7 vowel orders. Click any character to copy it instantly.

Click any letter to copy to clipboard
Family Phonetic Triggers 1st Order 2nd Order (u) 3rd Order (i) 4th Order 5th Order 6th Order (bare) 7th Order (o) 8th Order Labialized (wa/oa)

Developer & Engine Architecture

Technical specification of the Fidel core transliteration pipeline and cross-platform architecture.

Segmented Buffer Architecture

Decouples immutable committed syllables (lockedOutput) from active bounded matching (pendingFragment) for O(1) performance per keystroke.

Modern Framework Compatible

Bypasses React / Vue / Angular _valueTracker overriding issues on web inputs by invoking native prototype setters directly.

Prefix-Trie Mapping

O(k) longest-prefix match trie supporting 33 consonant roots, all 7 orders, and diqala compounds without regular expression overhead.